Electronic devices, including mobile communication devices, wearable computing devices such as smartwatches, and tablet computers support ever increasing functionalities and capabilities. Many electronic devices include internal microphones and speakers and may include connectors that enable the use of audiovisual equipment including headphones, external speakers, and the like. Communication may be provided through a digital interface defined by one or more standards. In one example, mobile communication devices may employ an interface that conforms to the SoundWire standard specified by the Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) Alliance. The SoundWire standard defines a multi-wire communication bus.
Demand for increased audiovisual capabilities continues to grow. For example, mobile communications devices may include video cameras and stereo microphones, which may be modified over time to improve performance. In another example, digital processing capabilities may permit an electronic device to implement sound decoders that can provide signals to drive more than two speakers. In these and other examples, improved communications capabilities are needed to enable processing circuits, controllers, coder-decoder (Codec) devices and other components to transmit audio data to multiple audio devices over a common communications bus.
The bandwidth available on a conventional SoundWire bus may limit the number of audio peripherals that can be supported within mobile communication devices. Accordingly, there is an ongoing need for increased bandwidth and improved flexibility in connecting increasing numbers of audio peripherals to a SoundWire bus.